Cam made no move to leave the exam room. “Why don’t you wait out front? It’ll just take me a minute.”“Huh-uh. What if you fainted? And hit your head? I am not taking the chance that anything will happen to you.”“Fine.” She dressed quickly. Cam paid the doctor’s bill and escorted her—heck he practically carried her—to his truck. The sun burned her eyes. She slipped on her sunglasses.About halfway home, Cam said, “When I heard you’d passed out and were nauseous, I thought…maybe you were pregnant.”Domini froze.“I know we haven’t been married long, but if it’d turned out you were pregnant, I…well, I wouldn’t have minded. Not at all. I just wanted you to know.”She faced out the window. She had to tell him the truth.And if Cam decides to walk away?She loved him. Now she knew the true meaning of selfishness because she didn’t know if she could let him go.Cam tucked Domini in bed, called the station and requested a couple of sick days. He jotted down a grocery list. He paced until it
“There are gonna be a million people there,” Cam warned. “And my family will grill both of us on our marriage, if we’re gonna start havin’ kids—”Her stomach knotted, but she tossed out a breezy, “Maybe they won’t, since we already have a kid.”Anton and Gracie burst into the kitchen. “Is it time to go yet?”Domini gave Cam a we-don’t-want-to-disappoint-Anton look.Cam sighed. “Fine. But if you look the slightest bit faint, we’re comin’ home and I’m tyin’ you to the bed for a solid week.”She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. Her lips slid to his ear and she whispered, “Is that a promise, Deputy?”“Yep.”“Good because I miss that side of you. You’ve been too careful with me lately. You know I won’t break.”He eased back to look at her face. “Domini, I—”“Are you two gonna suck face or are we going?”“Suck face. Definitely.” Cam teased his mouth over hers and her heart jumped.“Yuck. We’re outta here.” The sliding glass door slammed.Domini stepped back. “We’ll be lucky if any of t
Domini and Skylar turned.Chassie shifted her roly-poly baby boy from one hip to the next. One chubby hand gripped Chassie’s long braid. “Westin, honey, let go of mama’s hair.”He cooed, blinked enormous hazel eyes and blew a big spit bubble.“Blowing me kisses won’t charm me, buddy boy.” She kissed the top of his blond head and attempted to pry his fingers off her braid.“Need some help?” Domini asked.“It’d be great if you’d distract him.”Domini made goofy faces. Poked his round belly until he giggled while Chassie freed her hair.“Thanks.” She smooched Westin’s plump cheek. “You should show Domini how good you are at giving kisses.”“I’ll take a kiss,” she said, leaning in. She caught a whiff of powdery baby smell as Westin’s cool mouth connected with her cheek, leaving a drooly wet mark. She laughed and looked up to see Cam staring at her.The soft, wistful look in his eyes caused her to break eye contact. Caused her stomach to lurch with dread. Caused an immense amount of guilt.
“Right now?”“Yes. I didn’t want to do this here, with your family around but I have to do it before I lose my nerve.”Cursing, Cam dragged her around the corner of the house, out of sight. He braced her spine against the trunk of an old oak tree and framed her face in his hands, not saying a word, just watching her with those dark blue eyes.Domini attempted to push him back because he was crowding her, but he didn’t allow it. “Talk.”“I haven’t been…honest about something. Something big. Something that will probably change everything between us.”“What?”Breathe. Own up to it. Just say it straight out like he would. “You know that scar on my abdomen?”He nodded guardedly.“It’s not from getting my appendix taken out. It’s from getting my uterus taken out.” Domini detailed the short version of her medical history. She finished by saying; “I know I should’ve told you I can’t have children before you married me. I’m sorry. It was selfish. You deserve better, Cam. You deserve more. You
Figure it out.“Why so glum chum?” Cam asked from the bottom of the stairs. “Why aren’t you playing games with the rest of your—” cousins, but Cam amended it to, “—buddies?”Anton didn’t look up. “I don’t know how to throw a rope. How to hook something with a rope. How to tie something up with a rope. I don’t know how to do any of that ranch and cowboy stuff.”“That’s all they’re doin’?”“No. There was a foot race. I got third. Colt got first and Ky got second.”Cam bit back a groan. Colt’s competitive streak would never go away. “Third is damn good.”Anton finally looked at him. “You really think so?”“Sure. What other games does Grama have planned?”“Some pin chaps on the cowboy for the little kids and a three-legged race.”Cam’s stomach did a loop-de-loop. Anything but that. He managed, “Do you want to enter that one?”“Yeah, but Domini’s sick and she can’t do it.”Don’t say it. Don’t even think it. You will fall on your ass and embarrass yourself in front of your entire family.Bu
“You in pain now?”“Yeah.”“How bad?”“It’s been worse.”Domini rattled off a Russian phrase.Hell, she only swore in Russian when she was really pissed. He attempted to remove his stump from her hands. “Let me do this. I…you know my family ain’t ever seen me—”“Vulnerable?” she supplied. “The injured war hero Cameron McKay has a chip on his shoulder the size of his missing leg, when it comes to letting his family see his stump.”Cam’s mouth dropped open in shock.But his wife wasn’t finished. “I can see how you’d hate all the love, support and help they’ve offered you. That has to suck.”“Domini—”She got right in his face. “I understand that you don’t want to show your stump to the world at large. But these people—” she gestured to the group watching them very closely from afar, “—aren’t the world at large. They care about you. They always have, they always will. What don’t you get about that?”“You sent Keely away,” he pointed out.“I’m not talking about Keely. Besides, if I wouldn
“I never meant to hurt any of you.”“But you did.”“I’m sorry.”“I know you are. And I forgive you even when I still want to paddle your butt.” She kissed his forehead. “But it needed to be said.”He owed her more than a perfunctory I’m sorry. He owed his entire family more than that.“Being kicked around by my family when I’ve been down today has been a good thing, believe it or not.” He smiled at Domini. “I don’t want to go back to being the man I was because some changes are for the better.”“That’s good to hear and I’m happy for you, son. Let us share in your happiness, okay? Let us get to know the different man you’ve become.”Cam nodded.“I meant it when I said you’re welcome at our house any time, Carolyn,” Domini said. “You too, Carson.”Carolyn squeezed their joined hands. “That means a lot. Cameron’s been back in Wyoming for a while but it took you to really bring him home to us. Thank you.”His dad just patted his shoulder and then Domini’s. Twice. Then he slipped his arm a
Keely McKay’s lucky cowgirl boots kicked up clouds of dust as she paced across the wooden plank floor.A mouse skittered in front of her and she jumped like a scalded cat.So much for maintaining nerves of steel.Well, at least she hadn’t shrieked like a scream queen from some cheesy slasher flick.In the last twenty-three minutes and forty-two seconds she’d chewed her bottom lip to the point she tasted blood beneath the cherry-flavored lip gloss. Not only that, her fingers hurt from continually cracking her knuckles. Frogs jumped in her stomach and were stuck in her throat. She’d clenched her jaw hard enough to make her earlobes sting. Given her erratic physical reactions, one would believe she was facing the hangman’s noose. An executioner’s blade. Or a blind date.She was meeting a man. A man she didn’t know. A man she’d never spoken to. A man who held her entire future in his hands.And that absolutely chapped her ass, sucked balls and blew donkey dick.No man ever had that much p
“I believe you. I’m sorry I left the way I did. I had a lot of time to think between Omaha and Wichita.”“About us?”“That and some other stuff.”“Like what?”“I’ve been thinkin’ about safety issues and helmets and all that since Ryan died. And then after what happened to Dirk, I realized I wanna do more than talk about it; I wanna act on it. It’s a murky idea right now, but I have an opportunity to make a difference and I’m going to take it.” He kissed her just because he could, because she was here with him, where she belonged. “Enough about that. Tell me how long you were in LA, because Hollywood, I was headed there first thing in the morning.”“A couple of hours after you left, I got a casting call for a new sitcom and flew back to LA. I should come clean and let you know that my agent called me three times over the course of our road trip, after she’d lined up auditions. And every time I declined to go back to LA to audition. I didn’t know what it meant at the time, besides I didn
Ava gave Hannah an arch look. “Besides I know how damn good the man looks in chaps?”“Smartass. But really, what’s the point after Chase’s meltdown last night?”Her heart seized, thinking about how Chase had lost it on live TV. She’d wanted to jump through the screen and drag him off to comfort him. Assure him that not every wreck would have the same outcome as Ryan’s. Assure him she’d be there for him no matter what.“I know you can hear me, Ava, so stop ignoring—”“Ssh… They’re giving the injury report on Dirk.”The camera cut to an interview with the head of the sports medicine team. When he finished detailing the bull rider’s injuries, the announcer asked his opinion on Chase McKay’s comments about mandatory safety helmets. The doctor looked directly into the camera and said, “Helmets save lives. Period.”The camera returned to the main announcers. Their on-air banter circled to rider standings on tour and current matchups with bulls for the final round. When the list of the fifte
“After a few years, we started having you boys and… Well, my life was busy. Good. Happy. But I never forgot about that sweet baby boy I held in my arms for one short hour. Not a single day went by that I didn’t wonder about him. Pray his life was good. Pray he was loved.”*****Gavin’s eyes were on the shot glass he rolled between his fingers.“So I was shocked when your Aunt Kimi confronted me after your grandpa Jed died. She said one night Jed was loopy on pain meds and he told her that my father told him that I was pregnant. My father bragged to Jed I’d rather give the baby up than have it raised in a godless home as a McKay. Which was a total lie, but Jed must’ve believed it. After Kimi told me that, I finally understood why Jed never liked me and why he refused to live with us.”“Aunt Kimi never told Uncle Cal?” Chase asked.“No. But she told your Aunt Carolyn.”Gavin said nothing.“When did you tell Dad?” Ben asked gently.“Right after Quinn and Libby got back together.” She loo
Quinn? Yes.Ben? Yes.His folks? Absolutely.And probably any other McKay relation he called.They were just that way. They might fight like cats and dogs, but when it came down to it, family was everything. And he would do everything to reclaim his place in his family.“Chase?”“I’m here. Just figuring the logistics. If I leave now, I can be there by noon tomorrow. Is that early enough?”“You’re really not gonna compete in the final round and you’re coming home?” Ben said with total shock.“Hard to believe, but yeah. I’ve realized there are more important things than those eight seconds I spend on the back of a bull. I ain’t gonna be the one who lets Mom and Dad down.”Ben was very quiet.“What?”“You have changed. I’m looking forward to seein’ you. Drive safe.”Immediately after Chase hung up he called Elroy.“You’d better not be calling me to bail you outta jail, McKay,” Elroy barked.“Good morning to you too, sunshine. I’ll keep this brief. I have a family emergency in Wyoming and
“Me.”“And who are you?”Gavin took a deep breath. “I believe I’m your son.”****The crowd roared behind him, ready to party at the PBR on a Saturday night.Chase braced himself. The PBR’s newest female reporter, a fiery redhead named Lissa, stuck the microphone in his face as soon as he cleared the contestant gate. He’d been expecting it since he’d avoided an on camera interview last night. To ensure his cooperation, the cameraman blocked him in. Bastard.“We’re here with Chase McKay after that amazing ninety-one point ride on Devil’s Due. Congratulations, Chase, that’s gotta feel good to be back on top.”He focused on the woman and not the camera. “It does. Especially after an extended break and such a poor showing in Dallas.”“Tell us about the ride.”“Well, Devil’s Due is an ornery little cuss and highly unpredictable, so I wasn’t sure if he’d go into spin mode tonight or hopscotch around. Luckily I was able to stay with him no matter what he did.”“So the past few weeks you’ve b
“Okay. Thanks.”“And if that doesn’t work? Go with plan B.”Her mother, businesswoman extraordinaire, always had a backup plan. “And what is that?”“Track him down, tie him up and force him to listen to reason. It helps if you’re naked. And holding beer.”“Ah, Mom. I don’t think that will work.”“It sure did with your dad. Good luck, sweetie, keep in touch.”Ava packed her bag and booked a commercial flight to LA.“Why am I so nervous?” Ava asked Hannah, two days later.“I’ll tell you what I think after the audition.” Hannah straightened Ava’s miniskirt for the third time.“That’s not helping my nerves.” She tried not to think that Chase would know exactly what to say to her to calm her down. The door to the conference room opened and a long-legged blond strolled out. “We’re ready for you, Miss Cooper.”Ava squeezed Hannah’s hand and followed Corporate Casting Barbie into the conference room. Well, at least this production company didn’t have the clichéd casting couch. Ava chose the c
“No. And here’s fair warning: that is not a topic of discussion. With you. Or anyone else.”“Never thought I’d be happy to hear you say ‘no comment’ and mean it. Warms the cockles of my cold PR heart, McKay.”“You’re a riot. What else?”“The PBR is picking up your transportation expenses. You’re in New York now?”“Yeah.”“I can’t get you to Wichita directly—”“Book me into Omaha. I left my truck there. I’ll drive to Wichita.”“Done. What day you wanna leave?”“Today. As soon as possible.”Ava stared at him with shock.“The event isn’t for another couple days.”“I’m aware of that. But there are other things I need to take care of first.”Elroy sighed. “Fine. Contact me when you get to Kansas. And I don’t gotta remind you no press unless you’re escorted by a PBR media liaison.”“I get it. I’ll keep in touch.”“Good.” Elroy hung up.Chase returned to the bedroom and picked up his bag.“You’re leaving? Just like that?”“Yep.”“No discussion. No yelling, no hashing it out?”“What is there
Evidently he hadn’t realized she’d set up a goddamn camera in their room either.He hit the pause button, his head spinning, his gut churning, his thoughts focused on one awful thing.Betrayal.Yes, he knew she’d been taping all the fucking time, but he had no idea she’d been making a goddamned movie. The whole time they were together. To think he’d invited her to share his experiences on the road. He froze. Wait a second. He hadn’t invited her. She’d invited herself. Offering a convincing argument about wanting to see real life outside her poor, privileged upbringing.But Chase sure as hell hadn’t encouraged her to creep around, sticking that camera in everyone’s face. Capturing their private moments. Having no shame in using them for her own gain. For a woman who claimed to hate the intrusion of paparazzi, she’d become damn good at acting like one of them. She’d promised him she wouldn’t show her home movies to anyone.A new thought chilled his blood. Did Ava have footage of Ryan’s
“So I’ll think of you whenever I wear it.” Like I’ll ever stop thinking of you. Ava tried really hard not to cry, but a couple of tears slipped free. The last man who’d given her jewelry had been her grandfather.“Ava?” Chase tipped her face up. “Ah, hell. Don’t cry. I told you that you can take it back.”She made a sound half-laugh, half-sob. “No way am I taking it back, McKay. It’s beautiful. Perfect. I love it. Thank you.”The guardedness in his eyes vanished. “You’re welcome.”Chase paced in the hotel room, glaring at his phone. He hadn’t minded that the fucker hadn’t worked at all yesterday, since he and Ava had spent the whole day in their room, most of it in bed after they’d returned early in the morning from the penthouse.Dammit. He needed to access his email. Nothing was showing up on his phone. And he’d been in such a hurry to get away from the sorrow in Nebraska he’d accidentally left his laptop in his truck at the Omaha airport.His gaze landed on Ava’s computer on the de